The knife clattered to the floor as Saelina was shoved against a wall and screamed out in agony. Ezeas put the back of his arm across her chest, keeping her in place.

“What the fuck do you think you're doing?” he asked.

“I need to get rid of you,” she sobbed. “If I don't, you'll come after me and kill me!”

He looked closer at her expression and realized she was frightened out of her mind. He could feel the trembling of her body and her struggles were weak and frantic.

“Why do you think I want you dead?”

His voice was calmer and he relaxed his grip, while still keeping her in place.

“You've tried to kill me before,” she whispered.

“I haven't.”

“You have! I'd forgotten, but I remember now. I remember!”

She tried to look defiant but he could see the despair shine out of her eyes.

“When?”

He tried to keep his tone measured but she was still wriggling in his hold.

“When you knocked me off my horse! You were gonna crush my heart!”

Her voice started pitching and her hands were tearing at his arm.

“You trapped me in a ring of fire. Your mother's been poisoning the water. You all want me dead!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

He tried to protest but she refused to listen.

“I don't want to die! Please don't kill me!”

He had seen people like her before and knew better than to try and reason with her in her current state. With a deep breath he reached up a hand and placed it over her eyes. He poured forth his magic and willed her heartbeat to slow and her muscles to relax. He caught her body as it slumped and noticed the scratches and sores on her bare feet. He placed her carefully on his bed and touched the calling crystal. When the servant showed up, looking shocked at the sight of Saelina on his bed, Ezeas quickly sent the man to fetch his parents.

While he waited, he noticed Saelina's face was pale and marked with tiredness. He spent some energy on healing her feet, wondering why she would ever venture outside without footwear.

Tiyala arrived, her expression grim and turning pale as he recounted the attack.

“What happened at that compound?” she demanded to know.

“What could have made her lose her mind like this?”

Ezeas shook his head, then hesitated.

“On the way there, I woke up to see a shadow standing over her, while she was sleeping. When I called out, it fled. I spend a good while trying to chase it down but it disappeared.”

He ran a hand through his hair.

“She was attacked by a water lizard, shortly afterwards, though I can't say whether it's connected.”

His mother was deep in thought.

“Some creatures have venom which causes hallucination, but none of them live in the tunnels. I also can't recall any skill, this effective, outside of a few, rare potions.”

“A potion?”

“There are certain magic concoctions which, when administered, could alter someone's emotional state. But the effect should have been far more immediate.”

“Maybe it's because she's human?” Ezeas suggested.

“If anything, that ought to have shortened the delay,” Tiyala argued. “She should also have been able to taste it. Most of the potions have a strong taste, that can't be easily disguised. Unless someone provided her with alcohol?”

Ezeas thought for a moment.

“No, she's mostly been drinking water. Though she's been complaining that it was bitter.”

“Bitter? When?”

“After her injury. I figured you had put some herbs in to help with the pain. Now, she thinks you've poisoned the water.”

Tiyala's eyes widened.

“I wouldn't have given her anything unless I knew she had trouble sleeping, Ezeas.”

The son stared at her in confusion.

“But that would mean she had the potion, over a month ago. Could it really last that long?”

His mother gestured to the sleeping woman.

“Bring her to the manor. I need the use of my library and I have some medicine to keep her asleep, so we don't experience another attack.”

Ezeas did as told and followed his mother into the carriage, carrying the human as gently as possible. The drive to the manor was spent trying to think of possible magical concoctions that could have the currently witnessed effect.

Haylen was waiting inside when they arrived, his expression filled with concern as they dragged the woman in. Tiyala instructed her son to place Saelina on a chaise longue in her personal study, while she sorted through an array of small vials in a nearby cabinet. She eventually found what she was looking for and brought it over. With practiced ease, she pulled off the lid and let a small amount pour into the human's mouth. Saelina stirred and swallowed but did not wake up.

“Get the water from her room,” Tiyala ordered curtly, and Ezeas quickly did as told.

When she had the pitcher, she quickly poured a small amount into a glass on her desk and sniffed, suspiciously. Letting a small amount pass her lips, she grimaced at the taste and spit it out.

“Whatever is in here is nothing of mine,” she declared, darkly.

She pulled on a string to call the main servant and requested to speak with the maid responsible for attending Saelina's room. A nervous nyx, barely a century old from the looks of it, arrived in the study, her eyes darting around, nervously.

“Has anything been added to the water, in your presence?” Tiyala asked.

Though the question seemed neutral there was a dangerous undercurrent in his mother's voice, warning against any attempt at deception. The young woman shook her head.

“N-no, my Lady. Only the usual fruit extracts, to add sweetness.”

Ezeas saw no obvious signs of lying but his mother was evidently not yet convinced because she poured some water in a glass and offered it to the maid. The latter hesitantly took the glass and tasted its contents. Her face contorted and she looked embarrassed.

“I'm so sorry, my Lady, the fruit must have gone bad! I should have tasted it before serving. I'm so very sorry!”

“I'm not angry, Alienne. You may return to your duties,” Tiyala said, curtly.

She turned to Ezeas when the door closed behind the girl.

“She knows nothing or she wouldn't have tasted it, so easily.”

“If no one inside the house, poisoned the water, someone must have sneaked in from the outside-”

“That's not important, right now,” she cut Ezeas off as her face took on a pensive expression. “There has to be something we're overlooking. If we pour antidotes in her, we might exacerbate her condition, but there's no telling what's happening to her mind, even now.”

Ezeas racked his brain for something to mention.

“She said I'd tried to kill her, before,” he finally revealed. “She mentioned two instances but in both, her life was never in danger.”

“A memory distortion?”

He nodded.

“It seems like it. Though I can't say whether it's caused by her fear or vice versa.”

His mother had grown quiet, her gaze was distant. Ezeas dared not disturb her, though he felt anxious; it had been years since he was lost to this degree about what to do. Even longer since he had been this concerned for someone else.

“I wish I could peruse Niranne's things,” his mother groaned with frustration. “She has a collection of potions gathered by former High Councilors. Mixes which have long been banned.”

The comment stirred something in Ezeas' memories. His eyes widened as it came back to him.

“She gave me something. She said it could make Saelina fall in love with me. I thought it was the same as what was used by some higher families to discourage a bad match.”

“The Shatter-Bell potion,” his mother deduced. “If that's what we're dealing with, then it's a problem.”

“How so?”

Tiyala sank into a chair, resting her head against her hand.

“The mixture works by pushing emotions which are already there. Among couples, it could be inadequacy, distrust or even just general disagreements. The drops are administered over time and then all it takes is the odd comment here and there. The mind takes care of the rest.”

Ezeas shook his head.

“Is that the problematic part?”

“In a manner of speaking. For one thing, having your memory meddled with puts a strain on the mind as a whole. Obviously, trying to mend it isn't harmless either. For another, the mind of a nyx is less malleable than that of a human. Depending on how much she was given, the effect could be entirely too much for her to handle.”

Ezeas felt his heart quench.

“What can we do?”

“I don't know,” Tiyala admitted, her voice quivering.